


In Charge

by HanginWithLilJ (FlyDizzeeD)



Series: Learning to Cope [16]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Amusement Parks, Crying, Disabled Character, Eventual Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Matt Bragg is the real hero, Non-Sexual Age Play, Panic Attacks, Poor choices, Service Dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-02-07 07:23:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18615889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyDizzeeD/pseuds/HanginWithLilJ
Summary: When Ryan (the designated supervision) is out of commission, Trevor decides to take charge and keep the fun going on their amusement park trip. He's the oldest after all. What could go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

“Why does this shit always have to smell so bad?”

Jack rolls his eyes as he finishes coating Michael's face in an almost ridiculous amount of sunscreen.

“Would you rather put none on and become a lobster?” He teases, pulling his phone out to check on the others.

“No.” Michael mumbles, shoe scuffing on the parking lot pavement he's now pouting at. “Jeremy might eat me.”

“Only if you're boiled real nice and served with butter.” Jeremy calls from the back of their car, where he's looking around in the trunk. The attempt to soothe just makes Michael roll his eyes.

A moment later the trunk clunks closed and Jeremy's beside them, a backpack in each hand. He holds one out to Michael and puts on his own once the other boy takes it. Humming, Jack slides his phone back in his pocket.

“The others just got into the parking lot so we can start heading towards the gates. They had to stop by the house and pick up Ben before hitting the road like we did.”

That catches the attention of the other two. Both their heads snap up and focus on Jack, Jeremy looking more worried than Michael, which is unsurprising. Before either of them can start asking ridiculous questions and working themselves up, Jack holds up a hand and begins to explain, voice calm.

“He said he feels fine. He just wants Ben with him since we're staying out for a while, especially with the crowds and the heat.”

“What about his paws?” Jeremy asks.

Jack's eyebrows furrow, head tilted.

“What about them?”

As if it should be obvious, Michael rolls his eyes.

“It's hot. He wants to know how Ben's paws will be safe.” He explains, then turns to Jeremy. “They make dog boots, genius.”

Seemingly unaware of the sarcasm, and a solid sign of him slipping, Jeremy just smiles sunshine and happiness at him. “Thanks Michael.”

“No problem, Jer.”

\---

After the fourth time a piece of popcorn hits Gavin on the back of the head, he whips around to call out his assailant.

“Oi! Knock it off!”

There's a chorus of giggles among Trevor, Alfredo, and Jeremy, but it's hard to tell which one is guilty. Usually Jeremy wouldn't count because little Jeremy is far too adoring of him to commit such a crime, but Gavin knows how easy it is to convince the younger boy to do things, both in and out of headspace.

It's just annoying that someone else is taking advantage of it instead of him.

“You mingy little--”

“Alright!” Jack calls, cutting him off. “Everyone ready to split up and have fun?”

“Fuck yeah!”

“Thank you for the enthusiasm, Geoff.” He sighs and drapes an arm over the other man's shoulders, the two of them stood in front of the rest of their group. They're just inside the front gate of the amusement park, looking at maps and excitedly planning their day. It's pretty nice to all finally have a weekend where they can get out of the house, forget about work (to some extent; there's always content to be made anywhere they go), and relax as a big old unconventional family.

“What are the groups gonna be?” Matt asks, looking up from his own map and pulling a pretzel out of his mouth to speak. Ryan answers him.

“Me, Michael, Gavin, Jeremy, and Trevor will be one group. You, Jack, Geoff, and Alfredo will be another.”

There's a murmur among the lot of them and a few excited whoops as they move into their respective groups until one person is left standing in the middle, looking rather put out. Jeremy nervously winds his fingers through the front of his shirt, looking between the two small groups. Ryan gently places a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder and speaks softly. Casually.

“What's up, Jer?”

“... I want Jack 'n Geoff.”

Humming, Ryan squeezes his shoulder.

“That's completely fine, Jeremy. Go on with them, and thank you for telling me what you need. That's very brave.”

The praise earns him a quick hug before Jeremy joins the other group. He glues himself to Geoff's side since Alfredo has claimed all of Jack's attention with rapid fire questions about roller coasters and junk food. The excited boy doesn't seem to notice the way Trevor is anxiously watching him from afar, obviously not too terribly fond of the idea of being away while his pseudo-twin is small, but Ryan _does_ notice, and hands Trevor a map of the park when he returns to their group.

“Lead the way, scout master Trevor.”

As expected, the distraction works like a charm. Ryan smirks to himself when Trevor's eyes start roaming all over the map. His natural inclination towards scheduling and planning (in spite of his co-workers’ more improvisational methods) takes over and in no time he's rattling off options for where they should go next and why. Michael and Gavin are too preoccupied among themselves with arguments of which one of them will puke first, but Trevor seems to find Ryan and Benjamin to be a good enough audience by themselves.

“We should do water rides first so we can use the wind from the roller coasters to dry off.” He suggests, pointing to a section of the map featuring a mock lagoon area.

“Sounds good to me. Ben and I can do the boat tour with you guys but that'll probably be it.”

Trevor frowns.

“What if the ride doesn't go upside down?”

And Ryan has to hold himself back from grinning, because the logic is so clearly that of a kid, and Trevor rarely partakes in any of this. Far be it of him to ruin it by making the boy think he's laughing at him. Gavin must have tuned back in, considering the way he cuts into the conversation.

“Can't Ben just wear a seat belt or something?”

“Afraid not, boys. Besides, he can't let me know when I'm gonna need help if he's too busy needing help himself because you hooligans ride the most insane things you can find.”

“Old man Haywood can't stand those crazy hooligan kids.” Michael says, shaking his head. The other two boys laugh. Ryan just shrugs.

“I think Ben and I endure enough nonsense from you three daily. Right, Ben?”

The dog just watches him, lightly panting from the heat of the day, his soft floppy ears pricked forward at the sound of his name being said so many times. Ryan scratches behind one of those ears, indulging both of them. Attention for Benjamin and the feeling of silky fur for him. Always a win-win. Trevor interrupts the moment by thrusting the map into Ryan's face and pointing at what appears to be a log flume ride a short distance away.

“Can we go?”

Ryan looks up from the map and is faced with three very excited faces. He can't help his own smile.

“Sure.”

The sudden attack-hug and squeal from Gavin catches him off guard, but he hugs back and places a quick kiss in the other's hair. He feels Benjamin's nose tap him a few times, but he does the dumb thing, worried about ruining the boys’ fun.

He chooses to ignore it for now.

\---

“Please slow down.”

Matt sounds pained, but Jeremy barely spares a glance back at him, and certainly doesn't slow down. Neither does Alfredo.

“Hurry up, Matt, they're about to feed them.” The latter whines.

“What kind of amusement park even has animals?”

“Lots! Come on, Matt!”

“I'm coming, I'm coming.”

He manages to catch up to the two and grabs their hands in his own before they can rush off again. It garners some whining but he ignores it.

“Listen, Geoff and Jack will rip my head off if I lose one of you. I like my head. It's a nice head. So please just stick with me.”

“Fine!” Alfredo groans and keeps pulling them in his chosen direction. “Just c'mon already. It's starting.”

Sure enough, there's a large group of people already gathered around the enclosure. The three of them move towards the group and Matt gasps.

“Oh my god.”

“They're so cute!” Alfredo practically squeals.

But Jeremy is freaking out, desperately standing on his tip toes and straining to see over the people in front of them with little success. Everyone is cooing at the sight before them except Jeremy. He whines and grabs Matt's shirt with the hand not already in the man's own.

“I can't see! There's too many people!”

“There's more of them!” Alfredo exclaims, eyes fixed on the enclosure. Jeremy whines louder, tugging more insistently.

“Matt! Matt I can't see them!”

“Okay, fine, just-- hold still.”

He yelps at how he's suddenly not on the ground. Any other time he'd be embarrassed (and somewhat amazed) that Matt Bragg is holding him about a foot in the air, but his attention is immediately preoccupied by what his brain finds way more important in the moment.

The three bear cubs are climbing all over one another, their mother, and even the keeper, who's setting out various fruits for the animals. One of the grizzly cubs attempts to climb in the basket the fruit is being pulled out of, making the crowd aw at the effort. Jeremy is as transfixed as the rest of them, frantically pointing at the cubs and rambling on about them to his two friends.

“That one looks like you.” He says, pointing to the cub whose face is covered in various foods.

“Me?” Asks Matt.

“I can see it.” Alfredo nods.

“I will drop you.” He threatens, not meaning a word of it. Jeremy just laughs and continues watching the cubs for a little bit longer before he starts squirming. Matt obligingly returns him to the ground and stretches a bit, muttering some complaints about his back. He quiets down when Jeremy takes his hand again and leans into him. It's a very clear thank you from the red-faced boy, and he squeezes Jeremy's hand before he starts leading them back to the other two in their group.

Jack and Geoff are sitting outside the busy amusement park restaurant, multiple plates of food at the table. Their chairs are scooted close together and Geoff is all over Jack, as usual, so he doesn't even see the others approaching until he's hugged from behind by a very enthusiastic Alfredo. He yelps but recovers quickly.

“Jesus Christ, 'fredo, scared the shit outta me.”

“There were three cubs.”

“They had berries.” Jeremy adds. Alfredo nods.

“Hi, Matt.” Jack says, noting the way the man moves a bit stiff. “Did the walk really do you in?”

“No, but holding Jeremy up so he could see the bears sure as hell did.”

Geoff and Jack both look at the boy, who just blushes and shoves a handful of fries in his mouth to avoid conversation.

“Cute.” They say in sync.

“Not for my back.”

“Stop complaining and eat your burger you big baby.” Geoff teases, sliding one of the plates towards Matt. His eyebrows raise at the sight of the large burger.

“Damn Geoff, is this how you got in Jack's pants?”

“Please never imply I want to sleep with you again, Matt Bragg.”

“Whatever you say, boss.” 

Matt shrugs and takes a bite of his burger.

\---

Trevor Collins is good as gold. He regularly handles the many types of messes Achievement Hunter likes to throw at him (though not without help, but he's gonna let his ego flow on this one). Hectic tour schedules? No problem. Putting together an entire week long company-wide event in a month? Done. He's cool, creative, and operates at maximum efficiency. That's what it takes to manage a group like Achievement Hunter, and that's what he's good at doing. Chaos is an everyday thing in his profession.

So why is he failing so miserably right now?

“Hey, Ryan, pal, it's fine. Nobody's looking at you. Ben is here, I'm here, Michael and Gav are here. It's totally fine.” He says, his voice that somewhat high-pitched, mostly calm, _totally_ bullshitting manner he maintains for times of crisis. Ryan is not fucking having it though. The small group is sat behind one of the amusement park's souvenir shops, a small space of relative privacy, as the oldest among them rides out a panic attack. They're all sat on the ground except Michael, who's pacing nervously with his phone in his hand. Trevor is aware that his soothing words mean nothing to Ryan in this state, that the panic probably doesn't even have a reason, but he figures it's worth a shot. Realistically Benjamin is far better at this than he is. The Golden Retriever is calmly sitting in Ryan's lap with his entire body pressed into his handler's as much as possible, having already completed his first task of pulling a pill bottle out of Ryan's bag and giving it to him so the man could attempt to help himself.

“We should call them.”

Trevor looks up at Michael's worried voice.

“Just give him a minute.”

“We've given him lots of bloody minutes, Trevor, and he's still losing his goddamn mind! We need to call Geoff.” Gavin insists from where he's sat next to Ryan, practically glued to his side.

“Listen, we all just need to calm down so he can, too. It'll be fine. He took his medication, Ben is helping him, and we're all gonna be calm. Right?”

He squirms a bit at the way Michael narrows his eyes at him.

“Why don't you want us to call Jack or Geoff?”

Well, there's the root of the issue, isn't there? And the situation is serious, sure, but Trevor is… not quite ready to be serious and big yet, really. His eyes flash between the others, and Michael talks a big game, but Trevor knows he's the same. Gavin, too. So he takes a deep breath in and exhales some selfishness, words fast and gaze elsewhere. My that's a lovely rock, isn't it?

“If we call them they'll want to leave so Ryan can go home and I don't want to leave because then we can't ride anymore rides or play games or anything and I just want to have fun.”

It's quiet after that, with the exception of Ryan's rapid breathing, but even that's improved significantly from the beginning of the attack.

“He's got a point.” Gavin mumbles.

Trevor nods rapidly. 

“And besides, we aren't babies like Jeremy or Alfredo. We can just watch Ryan ourselves until he feels better. It shouldn't take long. Then we don't have to leave.”

He can see the war going on inside Michael's head. The man's never been any good at hiding his emotions.

“... Fine. If he gets any worse, we call.”

“Absolutely.”

“Of course.”

Ryan's at least breathing at an acceptable pace. Benjamin licks his face as he starts to come around, encouraging the process to move a bit faster. It usually takes at least a half hour before Ryan is working at normal speed again, and often he just taps out for the rest of the day, but the other three boys start to offer their own help in hopes of speeding things along. Gavin rummages in the bag for a moment before pulling out a bottle of water.

“Here, you should drink. You… cried a lot.”

There's no verbal answer. No physical one either, really, since the other man ignores Gavin in favor of shoving his face into Ben's thick neck fur.

“Come on, Ryan,” Trevor coaxes, “I gotta agree with Gav here.”

“Please, Ryan?”

It's that imploring tone of the Brit that makes Ryan finally take the water bottle in a shaky hand. He lets go of his near vice grip on Benjamin to take the cap off and drink some of the water. A bit spills out the sides of the mouth and drips onto his shirt, but he doesn't seem to notice or care. Once he's done drinking he tries to put the cap back on but his trembling fingers won't let him. Gavin gently takes the water back and screws the cap back on, smiling at him.

“Thank you, lovely Ryan. Think you can get back up yet?”

None of them notice Michael leaving, apparently, so they all jump when he reappears with a few paper towels snatched from the bathrooms. He wipes what he can off Ryan's face, rolling his eyes at the whining.

Benjamin carefully gets out of Ryan's lap and stands to the side, not taking an eye off his handler for even a moment. Ryan looks like he's about to drag the dog right back into his lap, but gets together the resolve to stand instead, accepting the hand Trevor extends to him to help him up. He doesn't let go once he's back on his feet. Trevor raises an eyebrow at the connection. Chooses not to comment. He's mostly just glad they're getting back on track.

“How about the swings, then?”

As if nothing even happened, the three boys grin at one another and practically drag Ryan along with them. Trevor glances at him again as they hurry to the ride. He notices the dazed yet nervous look. The fidgeting and the way Ryan is gripping both Trevor's hand and Benjamin's leash like individual lifelines. He knows these signs, and what they mean, but he does the dumb thing, focused on his own fun.

He chooses to ignore it for now.


	2. Chapter 2

Half an hour goes by without major issue. Ryan doesn't speak, doesn't look away from the ground very often, and sure as hell doesn't let go of Trevor's hand. Unfortunately, that means Trevor doesn't ride the swings. Or the litany of spinny nonsense they pass by as they stroll through the park. Part of him (the part that feels guilty about all this) thinks it's some sort of karma. Most of him is just annoyed by all the fun Michael and Gavin are having without him.

“Look at that one!”

He perks up and watches the rollercoaster Gavin is pointing at. It drops straight down before violently swirling into a dizzying number of loops and twists. The bright red track looks practically tangled in on itself, and god damn does Trevor want to ride that deathtrap. There's quite the line, but they all splurged a bit and got fast passes, so it's a non-issue. He bites his lip, looking from the despondent Ryan to the tempting ride. An idea strikes him.

“Heeeey Rye bread, I think I know what might cheer you up.”

It speaks to the curiosity he knows Ryan is constantly plagued by. He tears his eyes from the ground to watch Trevor, his actions speaking for him. The others are watching as well. Trevor carries on.

“Come on, it's gonna be great! You can pick whatever you want.” He promises.

Without waiting for a response, he starts guiding them over to a concession stand. Ryan is reading the signs already. Trevor's pretty sure he's got this one in the bag. Ice cream for lunch? Absolutely.

And it should keep Ryan distracted while they ride the rollercoaster.

“Do you want vanilla or chocolate?”

A mumbled “vanilla” is the most Ryan's said in a while. He takes the victory. Runs with it. Asks what type of cone and in a matter of minutes, he's got Ryan sitting at a bench, Benjamin at his feet, and a vanilla waffle cone with sprinkles in his hand. Ideal. Michael and Gavin whine a bit, but stop when they realize they can just get their own after the ride. After all, there's no Jack or Geoff around to complain about it. Trevor's in charge.

The power definitely isn't going to his head or anything.

“Alright bud.” He says, placing both hands on Ryan's shoulders. “We're gonna go ride the rollercoaster. We'll be back in ten minutes tops. You just sit right here and eat your ice cream, okay?”

No response other than Ryan continuing to lick the sprinkles off. Good enough.

“Great! Be right back, Rye.”

“Bye Ryan!”

“Please don't die while we're gone.”

The three take off for the rollercoaster and quickly make their way through the fastpass line. Trevor slows down some to glance back at Ryan and nearly turns right back around at the betrayed expression on his friend's face, but Gavin pulls him along before he can change his mind. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head to clear it. Ryan is fine, today is great, and everything is awesome.

Everything is still awesome when they stumble off the ride and back to Ryan, who hasn't moved a muscle by the looks of it. So much so that his ice cream, clearly forgotten, has melted some and dripped onto his hand. Benjamin, on the other hand, has moved, now sitting directly in front of his handler and staring the man in the eyes.

“We're back!” Trevor announces, but he doesn't have to. Ryan must've been staring down the exit, because his eyes are locked on the three of them as soon as they emerge. He's shaking slightly.

“Hello my lovely Ryan,” Gavin says, moving in front of Trevor to crouch in front of Ryan like he had earlier, “I can't imagine it's fun to have that sticky ice cream on your hand, is it?”

A slow head shake.

“Come with us and we can get that cleaned right up, yeah?”

A more confident nod.

“There’s a brave lad.”

Finally, they get a small smile out of their mostly despondent friend. They're ready to all accept that as a fantastic victory when suddenly they even get words out of him.

“Geoff please?”

So maybe they aren't great words.

Michael runs a hand through his own hair, voice a bit strained. “Don't worry, pal. Geoff is with the others and we'll see them all in just a little bit.”

“Little bit?” He asks, voice suddenly hopeful.

“Uh, yeah. Half an hour tops. Think you'll be okay until then?”

The promise and time reference apparently satisfies Ryan, who nods enthusiastically and parrots back “half 'n hour” with renewed confidence. Anticipation. From there he's easily cleaned up and follows along with notably less anxiety. They all eat their ice cream as they wander towards the section of the park with the more extreme rides. Barely finished, the three of them rush to another huge coaster, leaving Ryan at his designated waiting bench. He at least looks less lost now.

At the ride after that one, his enthusiasm seems to be fading. The others hardly notice, riding the waves of adrenaline and sugar coursing through their veins. Carefree laughter floats them towards one of the roller coasters with dangling seats. Ryan's seat is far more stable.

Trevor gives Ryan a quick once over while they're already heading to the next spinny nonsense ride and deems that the lack of tears is good enough. As long as Ryan isn't losing his shit, then everything is fine. Cotton candy at the next concession stand even makes him perk up again, eyes widening at the fluffy pink sugar presented to him. Gavin chuckles at the way Ryan cautiously rips pieces off while tearing into his own. It's a pretty awesome day, even if things went a little out of sorts. He's pretty certain a typical fully adult Ryan would never have let them survive on sugar, so hey, maybe it was for the best.

\---

“Ryan isn't answering any of my texts.” Geoff whines, frowning at his phone screen.

“They might be on a ride.”

“Matt's probably right. Wait a few minutes, but I'm sure they're fine, Geoffrey. Those three can be a bit much but Ryan's handled them plenty of times before. He's got it.”

Geoff sighs and tucks his phone back in his pocket.

“Yeah, I know. I just worry. It’s--”

“PONIES!”

_”JEREMY NICHOLAS DOOLEY GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!”_

\---

Trevor figures his earlier fortune must have been fool's gold.

He comes to that conclusion when everything begins going to shit. The first sign is when they have to beg a guy to not beat the shit out of Gavin. Said guy had the misfortune of sitting behind the Brit on a too-twisty ride preceded by the consumption of every sugary food they could get their hands on. Understandably, he's not happy about being the main victim of the unholy second coming of all that ice cream and candy. The only reason they escape intact is because an employee steps in, but the relief of having perfectly unbroken bones is temporary.

“Where's Ryan?”

That's really what seals the deal on the whole fake fortune thing. When they finally stumble away from the near fight, Gavin looking worse for wear, Ryan isn't sitting where they left him before getting on the ride. Benjamin is gone, too, thank God, because while a dog is no substitute for actual supervision, anything is better than the idea of a little Ryan wandering totally alone in a crowded amusement park. His throat still closes up though, then he chokes on that bit of air, _then_ he thinks he might just take after Gavin.

Then he thinks about how he's the worst big brother in the whole world.

“I'm calling him right now.” Michael says, already tapping forcefully on his phone and jamming it up to his ear. His eyes, desperate and wild, are scanning the area.

“He couldn't have gotten far.”

“Gavin's right. He hates the crowds too much. We should--”

“No answer.”

Trevor sighs and runs a hand through his hair, keeps it there, bangs forced back while he bites his lip and thinks.

“We need to tell Geoff.” Michael insists.

“No, no, we can find him. It's fine.”

“It's not fucking fine, Trevor! He's probably terrified!”

“I know! I fucking know, okay!? I fucked up. Bad. But Geoff and Jack are going to lose their god damn minds and that won't help.”

“I think I'm gonna be sick again.” Gavin whines, the stress obviously not helping his already upset stomach.

“We need Jack and Geoff, Trevor. We need--”

“I KNOW!” He snaps at Michael, stepping into the other boy's space. A few other park goers cast them some looks before moving on with their own business. For not the first time, Trevor's grateful people don't tend to give a shit about others.

He's mostly expecting Michael to deck him. It's not at all out of the realm of possibility for the Jersey lad. But when no punch comes, no scathing remark even, Trevor looks a bit harder at him. And he's crying. Not much. Not anything too obvious. But the silent tears are there, running down his face and making his eyes shine. Trevor's thrown by it and is pretty sure he's never seen Michael really cry before. It's odd. And he's lost. Ryan's probably a lot more lost than him, but damn is he lost. Usually he's fine with things going off the rails. But he feels… not good. At all. Suddenly, things seem so much more serious and out of his control. He doesn't even _want_ to be in control anymore, the thrill of it leaving him all at once. Without saying a word, he gently takes Michael's hand, then Gavin's, and leads them down the only path leaving this section of the park. Some part of him is too terrified to let go of them.

“Call Jack.” He says, voice subdued. Michael sniffles and Gavin pulls out his phone. He dials quickly and from what Trevor can tell, Jack picks up at the first ring. Rather than speaking, Gavin shoves the phone up to Trevor's ear.

“Gavin? Hello?”

“Hey Jack. It's me, Trevor.”

“Why are you calling me from Gavin's phone? Is everything okay?” The words are riddled with worry.

“Uh, Gavin got sick.”

“Shit. Is that why Ryan didn't answer his phone?”

“... No.”

There's a few beats of silence before Jack speaks again.

“Trevor, is everything okay?”

“We lost Ryan.”

“How--”

“He wandered off,” Trevor blurts out, “I don't know where. He got really upset earlier and he's been…”

He goes silent.

“Trevor. Buddy. I need you to tell me what's going on. Where are you now and what happened to Ryan?”

And oh, wow. He's got some tears too, huh? Well then.

“He's been small and I decided I was in charge. We left him at a bench while we got on a ride and when we got off he was just… gone. Ben, too. We’re by the…”

“Pirate stuff.” Gavin supplies.

“We're by the pirate stuff.”

“Okay. Fuck. I mean-- shit. Stay right where you are. We're on our way, just, just don't move, okay? Is Michael alright?”

A glance confirms the boy is still crying in that silent, frightened way.

“He's crying.”

“Jesus. Alright. It's gonna be fine. Stay there, got it?”

“Yeah.”

Without further ado, Jack hangs up. Gavin pulls the phone away and tucks it back in his pocket. Trevor notices how the Brit's grip is basically crushing his fingers but says nothing about it. Relays the information about staying put, finds a bench for them, and the waiting begins.

\---

“What the fuck is wrong with Ryan?”

Geoff's tone is the most serious Jack's heard it in a long time. Sighing, he looks at Alfredo and Jeremy before giving Matt a pointed look. The man takes the hint instantly and leads the boys away, ignoring Alfredo's confused questions about what's going on. Once they're far enough away, Jack places a reassuring hand on Geoff's shoulder. The other man has his arms wrapped around himself, body tense.

“They lost Ry--”

“They what!? How the hell did they lose Ryan?” Geoff's voice is shrill. Panicked. Jack sighs.

“Apparently he slipped, but the boys didn't want to stop having fun, so they had him wait while they rode stuff. He wandered off.”

“With Ben?”

“Yes, with Ben.”

A long groan drones from Geoff as he runs a hand through his hair, messing it up worse than usual. He's already starting to bounce from foot to foot and Jack knows that means he's itching to pace.

“Fuck. Shit. Okay. And he's still not answering his phone. Fantastic.” 

“We should start heading their way. Maybe we'll find him on the way there?”

“God, I fucking hope so. Don't think I won't report him to the missing children tent. I fucking will, Pattillo. I will.”

“I know, Geoff. We're gonna find him.”

A quick glance around, a biting of the lip, clearly questioning whether he should, before Geoff quickly kisses Jack. Like always, it's immensely reassuring. He takes Jack's hand and nods, jaw tense.

“You're damn right we are.”

\---

With the guys all gone, it's a very quiet day in the Ramsey household, which is usually overrun by yelling and laughter.

That means it's a very quiet day for Fiona, who's been asked to watch the various pets of the group. It's an incredibly tough, labor intensive job, being covered in this many cats. Really, she's the only one properly qualified to handle this level of danger. She's fully invested in some random Netflix documentary when her phone rings, the screen lighting up with a picture of Benjamin in sunglasses. She wrestles her hand out from under a soft cat belly, pauses the TV, and answers the phone.

“Hey Rye.”

Silence. It drags on for a while, so she checks to see if the call dropped. It hasn't.

“Ryan?”

“Fiona.” He finally says, voice quiet.

“That's me. The animals are fi--”

“There’s a carousel, and I got a slushie.”

She pauses. This is. Odd.

“What kind?”

But hey, can you really blame a girl for being curious?

“Cherry. Also there's rain. But light rain. Machine rain?” He doesn't seem to know the exact word for what he's trying to explain, and while usually Fiona would bully him for his tendency to flub and forget words, that doesn't feel… right.

“Oh, like one of those misters?”

“Yes! Mister. Ben, too. Ben has a cape. I got him a cape.”

“That's--”

“Geoff is gonna be mad at me.” He says, cutting her off again, but he's still unusually quiet. Sort of mumbling. Sure, Ryan isn't as loud and boisterous as the lads, but he's never so… subdued? That feels sort of like the right word. Fiona isn't quite sure what to do, has no clue what Geoff would be mad about, but she figures the man sounds like he needs some reassurance. They're friends. Family. She's glad to give him that.

“Hey, Ryan, buddy, I'm sure Geoff isn't mad at you. Just between you and me; he said you're his favorite.”

“He did?”

“Yep. But don't tell the others, got it?”

“Got it.” He agrees, sounding at least somewhat more confident. “Bye, Fiona.”

“Bye, Ryan.”

And then he hangs up. Just like that. But Fiona _still_ feels like something is wrong, like she's been pulled into some situation, and instead of putting her phone down and returning to her Netflix binge, she scrolls through her contacts until she finds the one she needs and hits call.

It takes until the last ring for Geoff to answer.

“Sorry Fiona, we're kind of busy. Is something wrong with the house?” He asks, voice fast and stressed.

“No, but--”

“I really need to get off the phone then, Fi, it's important.”

“Ryan called me.” She blurts out before he can hit end call. It goes quiet, and like before she checks to make sure the call hasn't dropped. It hasn't. In fact, she can still hear the sounds of the park if she listens close enough. She's getting worried.

“Geoff? Is everything okay?”

“Where was he?” His voice isn't demanding. It's soft. Desperate.

“I'm not sure. He mentioned a carousel and those cool down misters.” She pauses. Sighs. “Geoff, is something wrong?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is. We, uh… shit. We'll talk to you about it when we get home. I promise. Thank you, Fiona.”

“No problem. I'll let you know if he calls me again. Talk to you later, Geoff.”

“Bye, Fi.”

\---

Matt really doesn't know how these people function without him.

The carousel information is useful, but there's like three different carousels spread throughout the park, and that sets Geoff into another slight panic until Matt sighs, pulls out his phone, and opens the app that tracks the little device on Benjamin's collar. He makes sure Jeremy and Alfredo are still distracted by a guy making balloon animals before he taps Geoff's shoulder.

"He's at the big one near the gates." Matt says, sounding bored.

"He's-- how?"

Geoff slides right up next to him to squint at his phone and groans when he notices the app.

"I didn't even think of that. Oh my god. I can't believe we all said the tracking collar was a waste of money. I owe Ryan like, an entire Diet Coke factory."

"Something tells me he'll be happy enough just to see us." Jack says, pulling his own phone out. "I'll tell Trevor to take the boys and meet us there."

"Trevor?"

The three startle slightly at Alfredo's voice, but Jack regains his composure and preps for some more diversion.

"Everything's fine, the others are just--"

"Ryan got lost." Geoff cuts him off. He's already got a hand on Alfredo's shoulder, his other holding Jeremy's hand. The two look confused, non-believing, so Geoff sighs and continues. "Ryan got kinda scared and wandered off, so now he's lost. But we know where he is, so it's okay. We're gonna go get him right now."

"Now?" Jeremy asks, already leaning away, ready to take off and find the man.

"Right now." Matt agrees. The others nod.

And the short, confident nod Jeremy gives them is more sure than any of them have felt about the entire situation. There's no doubt to the boy. They'll find Ryan, and Ryan will be just fine. Geoff appreciates the wishful thinking and squeezes Jeremy's hand. A quick glance at a park map has Matt confident in his navigation as he leads them down the long concrete path to Ryan. The sun hangs high, the crowds are swarming, and the genius who decided to build an amusement park on rolling hills is really having their way with them.

"I'm gonna die."

"Matt, this is barely a hill." Jack frowns at the younger man who's moving at a snail's pace. Geoff hums and has to agree.

"It's more of a gentle incline."

"Fuck you. This is a hill. My death hill."

"You can die after we find Ryan." Says Jeremy, which makes Jack and Geoff burst into laughter. It's a nice feeling in spite of the lingering stress.

"Knew I shoulda joined Funhaus…"

"I'm guessing the requirement of zero percent body fat is what stopped you?"

"No," Matt says, rolling his eyes at Jack, "I was mostly just scared of Elyse."

"That is a perfectly valid fear." Alfredo mumbles, shivering.

That's when they _all_ laugh. Matt glances around and stops when his eyes land on a fluffy golden tail sticking out from underneath a bench.

"Hey guys, check this out." He says, getting the attention of the others, who look the same direction as him and freeze in turn. There's a split second of paused relief before the sound of sneakers smacking on concrete at a full sprint. Geoff tries to grab Jeremy as he's running off, but the boy snakes out of his grasp anyway. He's a few yards ahead before they take off after him, save Matt, who's content to stroll behind the group. He's done his bit, really.

Ryan is almost thrown from the bench by Jeremy's enthusiastic hug, a small yelp all he can manage as he grabs at the arm rail. Jeremy buries his face in Ryan's neck, mumbling various forms of chastisement and relief, and it takes a few moments for Ryan to understand the situation. Once he does, his previously stiff arms are thrown around Jeremy with a hesitant, shaky grip. His eyes are squeezed shut, Geoff figures, because their reunion has attracted a but of attention from bystanders, which is just the kind of thing Ryan does not need in this state. The whole scene makes Benjamin break his down and come out from under the bench to check on his handler. A few curious sniffs grace the pair before the Golden Retriever sits down, relaxed but still focused on his boy.

"Trevor! It's them!"

The group, save Jeremy and Ryan, look up at the accented yelling to find the other half of their whole approaching. Gavin is quickly making his way through the foot traffic, a massive grin on his face, meanwhile Trevor and Michael are a few paces behind. Their hands are still clasped tightly together, and where Trevor looks solemn and refuses eye contact, Michael's entire presence screams "worry."

Gavin reaches Jack first and doesn't make it any further, practically melting into the man. Gentle fingers card through his hair almost immediately. It's all a bit dramatic, really, but Matt doesn't mind it one bit when Trevor's free hand finds his and squeezes, almost too hard, but just right in the moment.

There isn't much more to be said among them just then, so they collect themselves (plus one very disheveled Georgian) and start the long walk out of the park and back to the cars. About halfway through Jack breaks the silence between them by asking what everyone liked about their day. Conversation seems to be what it takes to cheer up Trevor and Michael, who still seem somewhat terrified they're going to be in some awful sort of trouble. Alfredo is mostly happy to ramble about bear cubs, Jeremy is glad to listen, and Ryan's too busy fighting the call of sleep to participate, heavy against Geoff's side as they walk.

"My favorite part," Geoff says, gently scritching at Ryan's shoulder, "is spending time with all of you crazy idiots. Even if things got a bit dramatic. That's the Achievement Hunter flair."

Laughter and jokes float around, carrying them across hot pavement and into even hotter cars, the AC being turned to full blast as soon as they get in their respective vehicles. Cool air is a blessing after the long summer day and drowns out some of Michael's complaints about how he _still_ got sunburnt. Promises of aloe vera soothe the rest of that situation and Trevor at least has it in him to look sheepish about not reminding the boy to reapply. Even apologizes.

So it's one long day for the lot of them. But in spite of the tears and fears, they're all safe and still in one piece, so Geoff calls it a moderate success as he exits onto the stretch of highway leading back to their hotel for the night. The sun is setting, purple streaks pushing down on a bright blue day, but a glance in the rearview mirror still has just enough light for Geoff to see one of the only things he really cares about. Ryan, asleep, the straw of his drink still lazily against his lips and Benjamin splayed happily across his lap, just as tired and with his newly gifted cape draped over the both of them. A warm feeling floods throughout Geoff's chest and remains with him for that long ride, leaking into him from where Jack's hand settles over his on the center console.


End file.
